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Fisheries and Shipping

Fisheries and Shipping

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In the United States alone, more than 5,000 marine mammals are killed by commercial fisheries every year. Some species are killed in numbers that threaten their populations. And in the heavy competition for disappearing fish populations, marine animals lose out.

Marine mammals, particularly seals and sea lions, are often blamed for eating fish that humans target. But over 5,000 marine mammals die in entanglements annually in the United States. Worldwide, hundreds of thousands are killed each year.

The dangers posed by commercial fishing include entanglement in nets and lines and hooks, which can drown animals or injure them to a point where they starve or die from infection.

Speak out if you hear marine mammals blamed for eating fish. And if you eat lobster, consider buying those caught in Massachusetts, which has stricter requirements to protect whales.

In advance of the release of Disney/Pixar’s Finding Dory, animal protection and conservation groups today urged consumers not to buy fish like Dory, a blue tang, or other wild-caught fish as pets for home aquariums.